Razor-stropping machine.



P. GATUOGI. RAZOR momma MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 16, 1911.1,100,353,, I Patented June 16,1914.

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RAZOR STEOPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 16, 1911.

Patented June 16, 1914.

INVENTOR ATTORNEY WIN/8858 V UNITED STATES PATENT curios.

PLINY CATUCCI, OF NEWARK, NEVV JERSEY, 'ASSIGNOR TO A. F. MEISSELBAGH &BROTHER, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY;

rinzonssraorrrne macnnvn Specification of Letters Eate n t.

- Batented June 1.6, 1914.

Application filed January 16, 1911. Serial No. 602,829.

To all whom 'it may concern:

citizen of the United States, residing in Newark, county of Essex, andState of New Jersey, have invented new and useful Improvements inRazor-Stropping Machines; and I declare the following to be a full,clear, -'andexact description of my invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the SeiDuring recent years, the so-called safety razor has -come into generaluse, and many devices have been proposed for sharpening the blades ofsuch razors. Owing to the many difl'erent styles of blade holders,each

. providing for a diiferent style of blade, it

. tion may be, set forth as follows: The rela-' has become desirable ornecessary to provide some character 'of's'harpening device which may beused for any one of the several different makes of blades. It is toprovide such a device which will take all of the standard blades now onthe market that my present invention was principally designed.

Other objects accomplished by my inventive movement of theblade holderand strep roller to permit the free rotation of the blade about itstransverse axis in order to present both sides of the blade edgealternatcly to the strop. The positive rotation of: the blade incontradistinction to devices which merely whirl the blade about thetransverse axis, and depend upon the impetus given to the blade tocomplete'the rotation. The provision of" means whereby the accidentalreverse rotation of the roller crank will not result in a reverserotation of the roller itself and a consequent cutting of the sharpeningstrop. The provision of a mutilated strop roller which may besubstituted for the usual cylindrical. strop roller, the remainingmechanism remaining unchanged, whereby blades greater than the standardlength may be sharpened.

In carrying out these several specified .and other objects, I make useof the structures set forth in the drawings forming a part hereof, inwhich:

Figures 1 and '2 are respectively side elevation and bottom plan viewsshowing the parts in position just before the blade holder recedes fromthe strop roller, preparatory to reversing the blade. Figs. 3

and 4 are similar views, respectively, showblade holder support.

ing'the positions occupied by the parts when the blade is completelyreversed and about to return to contact with the strop roller. Fig. 5 isa front elevation of the device. Fig, 6 is a sectional view on line 6%6.of Fig. ,5. Fig. 7 is a plan of the rotating Fig. 8 is a sectional viewon line 88 of Fig. 7 showing the blade holder in position. Fig. 9 is asection on line 9-9 of Fig.5. Fig. 10 is a sectional view of themutilated roller for use with long blades. i

Similar reference numerals refer to like parts throughout thespecification and r n s The supporting base 1 is of pressed metal and ofinverted cup shape as shown.

Mounted upon this base are the two up-" right standards 2 and 3',carrying at their upper ends the horizontal shaft 4 and at their lowerforward sidesthe oscillating shaft 5. The shaft 4 is reduced in diameterfor greater portion of its length as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5.Near the right hand' end, as shown in the figure, and also in Fig. 9there is a partial circumferentialgroove 6, for a purpose hereinafterset forth. Upon the outer end of the shaft 4 isrigidly secured theoperating crank 7. -Loosely nountedupon the shaft- 4 between the upperends of the standards 2 and 3 is the wooden strop roller 8 having itscentral aperture bored to conform ;with the different diameters of theshaft 4:.

The screw 9 is inserted through the'face of the roller 8 in a positionto permit its inner end to take into the groove 6. This serves thedouble purpose of securing the roller 8 to the shaft 4 and of permittingthe shaft to rotate in a reverse direction for a portion of a revolutionwithout carrying the roller 8 with it, and thus prevents the cutting ofthe strep, when a -blade is. in position as hereinafter to be described.

The roller 8 has its outer surface surrounded with a layer of thick feltl0 and a thinner layer of softer fabric 11 to form a suitable resilientbacking for the sharpening strop 12, the latter being reversible andheld in position by means ofbuttonholes which take over the button pin13. In order to.

form .a protection for the edges of the strop 12 and also to give thedevice a neat finish, .I provide the ends of the roller 8 with converilyrounded and flanged caps 14, the

flanges of which extend slightly over and inclose the extreme edges ofthe strep. 12.

The operating crank 7 secured uponthe end of the shaft 4', not onlyserves to rotate the strop roller, but also serves to actuate the bladeholder as hereinafter described.

. It is constructed of two parts, 15 and 16,

secured together by the rivets 17, as shown. The part 15 has its outeredge struck on an involute are to form a cam 18. The part 16 is providedwith an anti-friction roller 19 the periphery of which is in alinementwith the cam 18.

"The oscillating shaft 5 carries the blade holder and reversingmechanism. Upon its outer end is rigidly secured the upstanding cam arm20 which is provided with the cam edge 21 and stop arm 22, both in aplane to engage the cam 18 andthe roller 19 of the crank 7. Mounted uponthe shaft 5, between the standards 2 and 3 is the small casting 23, saidcasting being rigidly secured in its correct position by means of a setscrew 24. The casting 23 is provided at its forward side with anupstanding hollow shank 26 to receive the. hollow shaft 27, the latterhaving rigidly secured thereto at its lower end the small spur gear 28and the holder clip 29 at its upper end. At the rear side and beyond theshaft 5, the casting 23 has the I hollow shank 30 which receives theoscillating and reciprocating shaft 31 and also the larger spur gear 32,the latter being looselymounted to rotate upon the outer cvlindricalsurface of the shank 30 and in mesh with the spur gear 28. The gear 32is held in position by means of the spring 33, surrounding the shank 30and located between the collar 34 and the face of the gear 32-. Thespring 33 not only serves to hold the gear 32 in place, but also acts asa friction device for preventing a too free r0tation of the gear 32under the impulse given it by the actuating parts.

Projecting from the lower face of the gear 32 is the crown ratchet 35,for engagement with the actuating pawl. 36, the latter being rigidlysecured to the lower end of the shaft 31. As above described, the shaft31 extends through the hollow shank 30, and it is held in position bymeans of the combined torsion and compression spring 37 upon its upperend, said spring having one of its ends secured directly to the shaft 31as by passing it through a hole in said shaft, while its other end isbent around the fin 38 on the casting 23. In this manner, the pawl 36 isalways held in engagement with some tooth of the ratchet 35 ready torotate it and with it the gear 32 whenever the operating parts actuatethe pawl.

Reference to Figs. 2 and 4 will show that the opening 39 is provided inthe base 1 so that the casting 23 and its parts may project beneath.

'40 in engagementwith the cam 41 will IIhe pawl 36 is provided with anarm or extension 40 which projects upon the opposite side of the shaft31 into the position to engage a stationary cam device 41, the latterbeing secured to the under side of the base 1.

parts mounted thereon to the position shown in Fi 3. Durin thisoscillation. the arm 7 through the pawl 36 and the ratchet 35, rotatethe gear 32, a partial revolution, and thus the shaft 27 will be given ahalf'revolution. Further rotation of the crank 7 will permit the upperend of the cam arm 20 to slide along the involute cam 18 and thusrestore the parts to the position shown in Fig. 1, such restorationbeing effected by means of the torsion spring 42 mounted upon the shaft5 with its ends engaging respcw tively the base 1 and some part of theeasting 23.

During the return of the parts as above described, the spring 37 by itstorsion effect, will hold the arm 40 against the cam 41 and by itscompression effect will permit the pawl 36 to ride backward over thetooth and engage the next tooth of the ratchet 35, and thus be ready forthe next oscillation of the shaft 5 upon the next rotation of the crank7. At this point, it may be well to state that if by accident or evendesign, the crank 7 should be given a reverse rotation, the involute camedge 18 would engage the stop arm 22 and thus prevent injury to thestop, it being understood, of course, that the screw 9 and the groove 6are operating as heretofore set forth.

The blade holder is provided with a shank 43, having a circumferentialgroove 44 therein, and to this shank there is securedsome one of thevarious clamping devices hcreinafter described. The shank 43 is insertedinto the upper end of the hollow shaft 27, the latter having securedthereto the clip 25) as above described. This clip is designed to securethe rotation of the holder and blade with the shaft 27 and also topermit the easy engagement and disengagement of the shank 43 from theshaft 27.

It is constructed in the following manner: The plate of metal 44 isprovided with a central aperture 45 to receive the upper end of theshaft 27 which is riveted in place. The ends of this plate are bentupwardly to form the lugs 46, which, as shown. are notched at, 48 toreceive the body of the holder plates 49. The lower corners of themenace lugs are perforated to receive the pin which latter carries thepivoted catch 51.

and the torsion compression spring 52.

The catch 51 consists of a small piece of sheet metal cut out to providea clip pro-' jection 53 which engages the groove44 of the holder shank43, and

lugs 54 to receive the pin 50, The lugs 54 are located, one inside ofone of the lugs 46, the other outside of the other'lug 46, theconstruction being such as to' provide for a slight sliding motion ofthe entire catch 51, as well as an, oscillating motion upon the pin 50;The spring 52 is located on the pin 50 and bears with one end upon theinner lug 46 and its other end upon' the inner lug 54, to resist thesliding motion, while the ends of the spring 52 also bear respectivelyupon the adjacent flat faces. of the catch 51 and the plate 44 toresist.

removed from the shaft 27, the groove 44 will raise or tilt upwardly theprojection 53 against the torsion tendency of the spring 52 until theparts are completely disengaged.

' 'I regard this clip feature as a very important part of my invention,for without it or some equivalent means the shank or the holder cannotbe held without a tendency to jump outv of position, while the verylightness of the clamping, though sufiicient to prevent this jumping outtendency, yet permits of easy disengagement of the parts. It frequentlyhappens that a call is made for a stropping device for blades longerthan the accepted standard. The strop as thus far described is designedto permit the reversal of the blade and holder without contacting theend of the blade with the strop roller, only when the blades are ofstandard length; z. 6., about one and three quarter inches long. Bladesof greater length will, when reversing, strike the roller and thus beuseless for the purpose. I provide two distinct ways of overcoming thisdifliculty. I may set the cam arm 20 upon the shaft 5 at a greater anglefrom the vertical and thus cause a greater oscillation of the shaft 5 soas to carry the blade farthe'r away from the strop roller, or I maypreserve the usual adjustments and substitute for the usual strop roller8, what I term a mutilatedroller 55; z'. 0., a roller having a sector ofabout three-eighths cut from it as shown in Fig. 10. The felt backing.56 and the strop 57 are lapped around the is bent at right angles asshown in Fig. 6 with the hinge backing 5.8 and buttoned to the twobuttons 59 upon the cutaway parts" of the roller. The

long blade in its reversal is so timed as to 'tiirn into this cutawaypart as shown, and

therefore, no interference between the long blade and the strop rollerresults. As above indicated, the strop is designed for use with allstandard makes of blades, that is, the single edge,-th in, the doubleedge, thin, perforated or not perforated; sectional razor 7 blades, thinbacked, etc., etc. -.1

From the, description of the parts related to the gear 32 and the spring33, it will be noted that means are provided for adjusting the gears 32and 28 so as to properly time the reversal of the blade with the passageof the button pin 13. 'If the reversal ,did not take place as thisbutton passed nearest the blade, the interference would damage theblade. This timing may be accomplished by lifting. the gear 32 out ofits.

seat giving it a slight turn in the opposite direction and then lettingit drop back into place in mesh with the gear 28. j

It will thus be seen thatby the structure described I have accomplishedthe objects set forth and have produced a stro'pping device which is atonce neat in appearance, cheap in construction and not liable todisarrangement in the. hands of those unacstructures more or lesscomplicated.

- I claim:

1. In a razor stropping device, the combination of an oscillatingsupport, a rotating blade holder carried by said support, a gear wheelcarried by said support, a pinion connected to said blade holder andengaging said wheel, means actuated by the oscillation of said'supportfor intermittently actu' ating said gear wheel and. pinion to positivelyrotate said blade holder, and a rotating s'tropping roller located-inposition to strop a razor blade mounted in said holder. 2. In a razorblade stropping device, the combination of a supporting frame, astropping roller and a blade support mounted in said frame, means forrotating said roller and oscillating said blade support, a rotatingblade holder, a gear train upon said blade support connected to saidholder and means actuated by the oscillation of said blade support foroperating said gear trainto positively and intermittently rotate saidholder. l

' 3. In a razor'stropping device, the combination of a frame, a rotatingstropping roller, and an oscillating blade support mounted in saidframe, a rotating blade holder upon said blade support, means forholding one face of a razor blade in contact with said roller durin a.partial revolution cam connections be-- customed to. the handling ofmechanical port to positively and intermittently rotate said bladeholder, to bring the other face of the blade into contact with saidroller.

4. In a razor strapping device, the combination' of a rotatablestropping roller, an oscillating blade support, a blade holder rotatablymounted upon said blade support, and means including a pair of spurgears for positively rotating said blade holder onehalf revolutionduring the oscillation of said blade support away from said roller.

5. In a razor stropping device, the combination of a frame, a rotatablestropping roller and a blade support mounted upon said frame, abladeholder ro-tatably mounted in 1 said support, means for relativelyseparating said stropping roller and said blade sup port, spur gear andcam connections between said frame and said blade holder for positivelyrotating said holder one half a revolution when said holder and rollerare separated, and a spring for resiliently pressing a blade, held insaid holder against said roller. I

6. In a razor stropping device, the combination of a rotatable stroppingroller and an oscillating blade support, a blade holder rotatablymounted upon said support, and a multiplying gear train connected withsaid holder and mountedupon said supportfor positively rotating saidholder one half a revolution during each oscillation of aid support.

7. Ina razor 'stropping device, the combination of a supporting base, anoscillating shaft mounted upon said base, a casting carried by saidshaft, a hollow shaft mounted in said casting, a gear train for rotatingsaid hollow shaft and pawl and ratchet mechanism associated with saidsupporting base and said gear train for converting the oscillations ofsaid first named shaft into positive intern'iittentrotary motion of saidhollow shaft.

8. In a razor stropping device, the combination of a supporting base, anoscillating shaft, a blade holder carried by said shaft, a gear trainfor rotating said blade holder and paw] and ratchet mechanism associatedwith said base and said gear train forc'onverting the oscillations ofsaid shaft into positive intermittent rotary motion of said bladeholder.

9. In a razor stropping device, the combination of a supporting base, astroppin roller mounted upon said base, an oscillating shaft alsomounted upon said base. a blade holder and clip carried by said shaft, agear train for rotating said holder and clip, a projection upon saidbase, a pawl and ratchet mechanism actuated by the oscillations of saidshaft in conjunction with the projection upon said base for transformingthe oscillating motion of said shaft into intermittent rotary motion ofsaid blade holder and clip.

10. In a razor blade stropping device, a mutilated stropping roller incombination with n'ieans including a gear train for rotating said rollerand a blade-holder and means for rotating aid bladediolder upon an axisat right angles to that of said roller and thereby alternatelypresenting the reverse faees of a razor blade to the stropping face ofsaid roller.

11. In a razor blade slropping device, the combination of a rotary c\"li1nlrical stropping roller, having a section of its face cut away,means for holding the edge of a razor blade against the stroppingsurface of said roller and means including a gear train forsimultaneously separating said blade and roller and rotating said bladein the plane of its axis with its ends passing into the space within thecutaway portion of said roller;

12. In a razor stixniipiiig device, the con1- bination of a frame. arotating stropping roller, and an oscillating blade support n'lounied insaid frame, a rotating blade holder upon said blade support, means forholding one face of a razor blade in contact with said roller during apartial revolution thereof. spur gear and cam connections between saidfram 1 and said blade holder aclu ated by the oscillations of said bladesupport to positivelyand intermittently rotate said blade holder, tobring the other face of the blade into contact with said roller, andn-ieans for preventing a reverse rotation of said roller.

This specification signed and witnessml this llhhday of January, l i/ll.

PLINY CNIUCGI ll'itnesses:

LOUIS M. Saxnicns,

H. Ti. Saxnnns.

